17 Sep 2013 11:39pm

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — The Digital Malaysia programme, launched in July last year, has contributed RM288 million to gross national income (GNI) and created 3,335 high-value jobs, said Multimedia Development Corp (MDeC).

Its Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Badlisham Ghazali, said it was undeniable that the next wave of economic growth will come from the knowledge-based economy, with digital technologies being the key driver of progress.

“What MDeC needed is a solid push and a clear framework to build a digital economy and Digital Malaysia is the right programme to foster an ecosystem driven by information and communication technology that serves as an additional enabler for the country’s transformation by 2020,” he said in a statement today.

Badlisham said the corporation was pleased with the first-year results and believed it was on track to achieve its 2020 targets of increasing GNI contribution of digital technologies to 17 per cent and creating 160,000 high-value jobs.

He said building a vibrant Malaysian digital economy meant adopting new ideas faster than ever, to meet market demands.

“More important than the numerical targets of high-value job creation and GNI contributions, a strong digital economy will also encourage more Malaysians to innovate and ensure that businesses, big and small, will have the right ecosystem and platforms at their disposal to improve efficiency and increase market share in both the local and international fronts,” he said.